Birkhofer Holds Off Sheppard for Cedar Lake Speedway Victory

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — June 14, 2013 — Brian Birkhofer led 31 laps after starting from the third position and held off a mid-race challenge from Brandon Sheppard to secure his first win of the 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour on Friday’s opening night of the Masters at Cedar Lake Speedway.

Birkhofer, of Muscatine, Iowa, inherited the lead on lap 9 after second-place starter and leader Kevin Weaver broke a driveshaft. Birkhofer would never look back, going on to capture the $5,000 checkered flag.

“I knew I was a little loose, but I had to run the top, so I had to kind of back-pedal a little bit on the throttle and gave [Sheppard] the opportunity,” said Birkhofer in victory lane. “He was racing hard, and I thought it was great. It was great racing.”